ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said July 5 that Taiwan will continue strengthening academic exchanges and technological collaboration with the U.S. as part of efforts cementing Taipei-Washington ties.

“The current state of Taiwan-U.S. relations is the best since the two ended diplomatic ties in 1979,” Ma said. “The bilateral relationship is set for a further boost following positive developments between the two partners over the past two years.”

These include visits by U.S. lawmakers and government representatives, as well as Taiwan’s inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, he added.

The president made the remarks at the presidential office while receiving a delegation from UCLA led by the school’s chancellor Gene Block.

According to Ma, the U.S. continues to be the leading choice for Taiwan students studying overseas, accounting for half of the 32,000 applications for student visas in 2011.

Educational ties are particularly strong between Taiwan and California, the top U.S. destination for local students, Ma said. “Nearly 27,000 locals studied in the U.S. between 2009 and 2010, with 24 percent choosing the golden state.”

About 130 Taiwan students are pursuing doctoral degrees at UCLA, which is also one of the designated institutions for the nation’s young researchers and scholars to receive public sponsorship.

The president also thanked Block for the school’s promotion of the New Directions in Taiwan Studies program. Launched in 2008, the project fosters new research on and academic exchanges with Taiwan through the establishment of a Center for Chinese Studies.

To further bolster ties with Taiwan, Block signed a memorandum of understanding with the ROC Ministry of Culture July 5 in Taipei City to promote the Taiwan Spotlight Project.

Under agreement, UCLA will assist the ministry in organizing artistic performances, movie screenings and other cultural activities in Los Angeles to bring the global community up to speed on Taiwan’s current state of national development.

According to the MOC, 11 more universities in Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. have pledged to take part in the program. These include Edinburgh University, Heidelberg University, Nanyang Technology University, Tokyo University of the Arts, UC Berkeley and the University of London. (SDH)